The gym membership idea is definitely out. The prices aren't too bad at all for a year's membership, but it appears you have to pay extra for the classes. To a girl that grew up in the military where everything like that was either free or at a reduced price, it feels steep! :-) Anyway, it doesn't fit my budget, and that's what really matters. So...instead I'm going to look into some gaming systems. I've heard a lot about Just Dance and I want to see what else is out there. I can't really do much weight lifting anyway given the muscle and joint pain [it aggravates it], so I'm really looking to burn fat and tone up. Yay for a job that will allow me to be organized and productive both at work and at home!!! :-) I'm praying this year brings on a whole new Danielle that has the energy to stick to committments!

Rambling Thoughts...

I feel like I have moved into survival mode for my last week at the daycare. Each week seems to get harder, physically speaking, and bring on more joint pain and fatigue. I remember this being an issue when I worked around the cows and worked long hours, but I guess I didn't think this qualified since it's only a 42-ish hour work week [as oppose to the 60 hours/week I use to work]. Maybe it's because I'm older, but I am not ashamed to admit that I can't hack it. Praise God for this new job, because when I applied for it, the fatigue was sneaking up on me and I didn't really think it was going to be a problem. It's like being blindsided by an eighteen wheeler. :-) I'm very, very, very thankful this is my last week in regards to energy levels and pain [I'm living on ibuprofen again].

I also miss the more organized Danielle I had become up until three months ago. I thought I was just being lazy and was thrown through a loop by being on a new schedule, but I realize now it's the fatigue. I don't have the energy to come home and get done everything that needs doing. So this week, my only plans are to get my school work done, as well as studying for my new job and getting on an earlier schedule. Other than that--and finishing up well at my custodial job--I don't have any great asperations. I skipped church today and plan on missing caregroup [small group] this week as well. I just want to get through this week without getting sick and without starting my new job on Monday a frazzled mess because I'm so burned out. :-) Wouldn't that be loverly, as Eliza Doolittle use to say.

One of the things I am most looking forward to with this new job is the earlier hours [I start anywhere from 7:30 in the morning to 9:00]. I love earlier hours like this where it's early enough to get off work at a decent time, but not so early that you're having to get up loooooong before the sun is even thinking about peaking it's head over the horizon. I'm also looking foward to that day in Spring where I am walking out our front door to head to work--a fact I hope to be thrilled about--and the sun is warm, the grass is green, the birds are singing and the air is shouting, "it's SPRING!" I've waited for that moment since I quit the cows and it seems to me God could be answering that prayer before I expected Him to.

Something else I am hoping to look into is a membership at the rec center. I thought about a place like Curves [which I would assume is cheaper], but decided the pool and possibility for water aerobics is something I want to have access to. After happening enough times for me to take notice, I realized that any time I've either had a job that was extremely physical or I tried to work out a lot, I always end up getting weaker over time because of the pain. Since water aerobics is suppose to be a great way to exercise that is gentler on the joints, I thought that might help. If a membership is too much, I can at least have safer options to walk in town where I work [as oppose to out in the country where you run the risk of getting squashed].

Anyway, that's enough rambling from me for now. :-) Have a great week!!

A friend of mine whom I met during our hay days of milking cows recently opened her own restaurant. Previously, she had a small setup in Green Dragon, but now she has a building just outside Ephrata that was formerly known as Beam's Music Store. The restaurant is called Outback Creamery and Grille [I suspect the "Outback" refers to the location at Green Dragon, which was the name of her stand there]. She has a great menu for both breakfast and lunch/dinner that I think will be [and appears to already be] very different and popular in Ephrata. It's a nice change from Applebee's, the typical diner's in Ephrata, and restaurant's like The Lincoln House or HillTop. Not sure if I have that last name right... The above picture is my favorite breakfast item by far: stuffed french toast with cherry topping and apple wood smoked sausage on the side. There is another variation of the stuffed french toast that is loaded with meats and cheese...very yummy! I'll post other pics of what I order from time to time.

On to other exciting news.................I HAVE A NEW JOB! :-) That's right, folks, in two weeks I will be a front desk and billing personnel at a local doctor's office. I'm very excited! I went to purchase my new scrubs this weekend, which was insanely fun. I felt like I was just given the ticket into a secret society or something. There was another lady shopping for scrubs, so I asked her to give me the layout of the whole thing, which she did along with sharing in my enthusiasm for my new job...a very nice lady indeed. And surprisingly enough, scrubs are actually very figure flattering...who would have guessed? I had fun with the various colors, though there were one or two that I couldn't find in just my size. I felt like Goldilocks...some were too small, some were too big and only a few were just right. Some were from the same company and the same size and still didn't fit the same, but I had fun anyway.

I will miss my co-workers and the kids at the daycare, but the physical toll is piling up, so I'm anxious for these two weeks to go by quickly. I keep getting sick between all the colds, flu's and bugs flying around and being so physically run down, which is the main culprit. As my co-workers found out I will be leaving in two weeks, I heard "fond" farewells..."I'm so mad at you" and something along the lines of being called a dork. :-) I was banished from sitting in my favorite booth in the cafe [right where the light pours in from a window], though I still sat there when the banisher wasn't looking. There were a few direct well wishes sprinkled in, but the frowns kinda always make you feel more loved. ;-)

There doesn't seem to be much time to get anything done these days. :-) Mainly because I still need to get into a better routine of going to bed earlier so I can get up earlier. I have to find a better way of unwinding in the evenings that doesn't involve crashing in front of the tube. :-)

I am really enjoying working in a small town [New Holland is unique from Ephrata in that it is smaller and seems more close knit]. I love going to the main grocery store on that end of town after work and seeing co-workers there, or kids and their parents from the daycare. It's also nice when you're sick and people are nice about it and ask you how you're doing the next day...what a nice surprise to have it understood that you're not a human machine. :-) I got another hug from one of the kiddos at work the other week...love it! More than anything I wish I could find a way to work around the kids more. I found out what someone with a bachelor's degree makes at a daycare...it's appallingly low! If you're kids go to daycare and you feel you're not getting your money's worth, trust me, you likely are. They are there because they love it, not because they can make a decent living doing it.

I've settled into a routine there and not finding it as lonely. I get to chat with people as I'm going about my business, and I have my iPod for the days where I'm feeling more lonely and therefore more likely to chat too long. I always get the guilties when I take a few minutes to sit [apart from my break], but one of the teacher's recently told me I get a lot done from her view of things, and that made me feel good. It's a very active job...if I'm stationary it's because I'm cleaning, otherwise I'm walking around a lot. I am losing inches in my waist [the scale isn't changing much...muscle?] and I'm not even trying! So I decided this week I need to get serious about eating healthier as much as I can and really take advantage of how active the job keeps me. I'd like to get as much weight off me as I can while I'm here, and then try to maintain that with an office job, which won't be easy at all for someone that hates to work out [though I love walking] and "diet". I admit it, I love food! :-) I like healthy food, too, I just get bored with it.

Hmm, what else is new? I'm wearing glasses...did I mention I'm wearing glasses? Now that I'm use to them, I like them. I feel "naked" without them on, which is a riot considering how goofy I felt when I first started wearing them. My right eye is much weaker than the left and it was getting noticeable, particularly when I was driving. I am a fan of America's Best now....two glasses plus the exam for $60...not bad! :-)

My next class starts in two weeks...Intro to Medical Insurance. I should be done by June, can't remember if I mentioned that before. I am applying to some jobs here and there, but there hasn't been much lately. I'm guessing it goes in waves. Last year all I could find were jobs in billing and nothing in coding, now it's flip-flopped. I'm torn about applying around now. I want to get started in that career and I'm excited and ready for the challenge, but I'm going to miss my co-workers and the kids at the daycare. I'm even finding that I don't dislike the cleaning, although with so much it feels overwhelming at times. But all in all, it makes sense to get my foot in the door as soon as I can and hope that my new co-workers are equally as nice to be around. :-)

A parting, updated profile pic:

I finished my CPT class last week--thank goodness! It was a more involved and chaotic type of coding that I hated 50% of the time! :-) I definitely don't want a job dealing exclusively with CPT. I also find anything dealing with cardiac to be frustrating. So no cardiology for me. I have three more classes to go before I'm finished with the medical billing program, which is exciting.

I can't remember if I shared this yet or not, but this job is still surprisingly lonely. It gives the effect of being on the outside looking in. It is a reminder that I can't look to circumstances surrounding me for fulfillment. As to the One I should be looking to, I find that a struggle as well. Alot of my troubles comes down to time management, and I am also finding it difficult to get going in the morning. My QTs have been non-existent for awhile now. It is something I am going to have to work on.



Looking exotic but really just freaking out about the car
that's about to drive passed. ;)

Well, there really isn't much to tell these days. Work is going well and I'm enjoying getting to see the kiddos every day. If the scenario were different [ie. not a labor job], I'd like to stay with this company for a year or so and get a chance to really enjoy everyone and have that in my memory bank. But as I'm trying to move forward in job skills, I think it's best I not linger too long. I love the fact that I keep moving with this job and I'm not afraid of the hard work, I just have 12 years of labor work under my belt and I want something more challenging that won't tax my body as I get older. I mention the latter because, obviously, there are a lot of very challenging and highly skilled labor jobs. :-)

Always ready for a scratch behind the ears. :)

I'm also enjoying working around people again, and this particular group of women are a lot of fun. I can't get over the perks, either. A gift card for working Black Friday, both Mondays off after Christmas and New Year's, two Christmas dinner parties and next week I'm going to someone's house to bake Christmas Cookies. Between farming jobs and working nights by myself, I've missed out! :-) We also have lunch provided for us through the daycare's kitchen [it's about an 8 classroom 'school'].

I'm looking forward to Christmas and not at all prepared. :-)

I had a great time this weekend with the ladies in my caregroup. We headed to Avalon, NJ for the weekend where we were able to stay at a beach house that sat practically on the beach [about a two minute walk to the ocean]. It was a nice, relaxing time away just before switching jobs!

On Wednesday, I officially begin my FT position cleaning the building I currently clean. :-) It was decided to merge two PT cleaning jobs into one, so I will be taking on a lot more responsibilities, as well as working directly for the day care center. I had been cleaning the floors through my uncle's company [the daycare/church contracted the job out]. The first couple of months will be "winging it", as we take two jobs that take about 30 or so hours a week each to complete, and pare it down to 40 hours a week. Most of the downsizing will be the floors. There's a lot of detail to it, but we think it's going to work. The most exciting detail is that I am switching to dayshift! I will be starting late morning and finish up mid-evening. This week will be a little rough...Tuesday is my last nightshift, and Wednesday morning I report for my first shift on days. We'll see if I can make the transition from three years of nights to days in a twenty-four hour period! :-) The weekend away helps, and I plan on getting to work earlier my last two nights so I can be home and asleep before it gets too terribly late. I will actually miss one or two things about nightshift, but nothing so much that I would want to keep the schedule! :-)